Tiny DiNozzo
by JackiLeigh
Summary: Tony and Tali return from France to an not-so-welcoming Team Gibbs and company. I was inspired to write this after reading My Whole Life Is Thunder's "Maybe Sometime." I am only taking part of the story as my inspiration. I hope you all like the twist that I put on it.
1. Chapter 1

TINY DINOZZO

 **AN: I was inspired to write this after reading** **My Whole Life Is Thunder's** **"Maybe Sometime." CHANGED TO "The Betrayal of Agent DiNardo." She was not finished with her story when I started this story. But, she probably will be by the time I finish my story.. But I am only taking part of the story as my inspiration. I hope you all like the twist that I put on it.**

Tony could not believe what he was hearing. His homecoming to D.C. had not gone as planned. He had expected his 'family' to welcome he and Tali with open arms. That had not happened, actually quite the opposite. Everyone seemed to hate him. That was okay, as much as it hurt him. He could deal with that. But, they were acting as if Tali didn't even exist. They had all acted like Tony had not gone on the mission to save Gibbs and Tim because he had not wanted to. He had wanted to. He would have gone, expect for the fact that he was now a father. And he was, quite literally, all Tali David DiNozzo had. He could not just leave Tali and go off on a mission. Who would he leave her with? Who could he trust to take care of her for an indeterminate period of time? Senior was out. He had enough trouble taking care of himself. He could not just ask someone to take care of his child for a few weeks. And, it could have taken longer, a month maybe? What if it had taken that long? How could he expect anyone to take care of his kid and not know then, or even if, he was coming back. Tony had no idea how things would have gone. And besides, he could not leave Tali. Not just dump her in somebody's lap for weeks, months. That wasn't fair to Tali or her caregiver.

Tony had had to make some hard decisions in a few short hours. Three hours after returning to D.C., he was in the director's office.

"Well, Agent DiNozzo," Leon started after Tony took one of the seats across from the director's desk. 'the behavior you describe is reprehensible. But, unfortunately, not criminal."

"I just…Tali has been through enough in her young life. She doesn't need this. This hatefulness and drama. I actually told her…." Tony shook his head and jus stopped. It hurt to talk about the betrayal had had experienced since returning to D.C. HE felt like had had lied to his little girl. Telling her about her Grandpa Gibbs and her Uncle Tim and Aunts Abby, Ellie, and Delilah. It pained him now to try to figure out something to tell her to explain why those people would not be in her life.

Vance had heard whispers of things. He had heard rumors of things that people were saying about Tony since he had had to decline the mission to save Gibbs and McGee. Vance had understood Tony's reasons. And the director had thought Gibbs and company had also. They had seemed as if they had understood and were sympathetic to the young man raising his little girl alone. But, apparently that was not the case. Since Tony had been back, all they had been doing was spewing venom in his direction. Vacne was not going to put up tit that.

"I found something. Regular working hours, not field work. You would be teaching in FLETC." Vance told him.

Tony looked at Leon for just a moment. He had not really considered teaching his thing. But, if he thought about it, that was all he did, for Gibbs, teach the new probies the ropes. And, he had done a good job with Kate and Time…and Ziva. They all became excellent agents because of him.

Tony nodded. He would be happy to take the job., for many reasons. First and foremost. He would be able to be home for Tali in the evening and have regular hours. Second, he would have weekends off. And third, while he was still in D.C., he would rarely, if ever, see Team Gibbs and company, who he was beginning to refer to as 'those people.' He was not going to let them case him away from any place that he wanted to be.

Tony had asked his dad to get him moved into the two-bedroom apartment he had picked out in his building. He needed bigger accommodations. He had hoped that that movers would be extra careful with his baby grand. He wanted to be able to teach his daughter how to play piano on that thing. And as it turned out, Senior had done a great job. The apartment was all unpacked and ready for the two of them to just move in and start living. Tony even found lots of brand-new outfits and toys for his little girl. Loads of pink and purple dresses, with pretty matching dress shoes. His dad had even thought about the weather, getting Tali a winter coat with matching hat and glove set. Several sets actually, knowing how kids tend to lose those things. Senior had even gotten her a rain coat and rain and snow boots. Tony could not help but smile at the outflow of love and support he was getting from his dad.

When Senior found out he was a grandpa, his whole attitude changed. He treated Tony a lot better, and he simply adored Tali. The old man had even joined Tony and Tali in France for a little while. But, he had needed to come him after a few months. Senior had not had the money for an extended trip. And he had wanted to make sure all was ready for Tony, when he decided to come back to D.C. and continue his job and his life.

Tony was not paying attention and, as old habit, hit the button for Gibbs' floor. He had been back at NCIS a month and had not seen or heard much of Gibbs and company. And he was happy about that. He didn't need the drama.

"It's back." Bishop stated seeing who was about to get off the elevator.

Tony looked up startled for just a second, then he realized his mistake. He then gathered himself and walked off the elevator like he meant to stop there.

"It?" Tony asked.

"You don't work here anymore!" The newbie snapped.

"Afraid I'm gonna take my old job back?" Tony retorted.

"Not gonna happen." Gibbs said, coming over to where Tony was. "I don't want you back."

"Well…." Tony replied. "As…pleasant as this has been…."

"Just leave, nobody wants you here." The newbie said.

Tony had started to walk away. But, that caused him to turn around. "You know…it's really sad. All the time I was in France I was telling Tali about her American family. Her Grandpa Gibbs, her Aunt Ellie, Her Uncle Tim and I…I told her what fun she would have playing with her cousins." DiNozzo shook his head and started to walk away. His little speech had had the desired effect. It shut them up. He turned again. "I had a 3-year old child. I could not go on a rescue mission. It's against agency policy to even ask the sole parent or caregiver of a minor child to engage in any field work that could endanger his or her life. I, however, was asked to consult, which I did. So, say what you want, believe what you want. I don't care."

"Ton…? Bishop started.

Tony turned. He shook his head. "You don't get Tony. It's Agent DiNozzo. What do you want?"

"I didn't…." Ellie began. The formality felt very odd.

Tony shook his head again. "You didn't know. You didn't care. It doesn't matter. You didn't have your facts straight! What did you expect me to do? Just drop my daughter on somebody and leave?! Is that what you thought? I could just leave her and go off, not knowing if I would even be back? And there she would be, without both parents. But, you didn't think about that." Tony shot back. "Despite the fact that there were other immensely qualified agents, many of them, already working on the case. Despite the fact that other alphabet agencies were involved. More than enough man power to do the job. And you come down hard on me because I have to take care of my child?"

Tony looked at Gibbs. "And, just so you know, whatever…kinship, whatever…respect I had for you is gone…long gone."

"Grandpa Gibbs, that…." Gibbs said, suddenly realizing what he was actually losing. He looked at Tony again.

"Now, I have to explain to her why she doesn't have …." Tony shook his head and turned away at that. By this time, they had gotten the attention of the entire floor. DiNozzo looked around at everybody.

There was a moment of silence while Tony cleared his throat. "The whole room got to see what that second B in Gibbs really means." He told the agent. "You should be so proud." The anger and the hurt evident in his voice.

"DiNozzo…!" Gibbs started.

"No." Tony backed away. "We're done! Your doing, not mine. There's nothing left for me to say. You've made your…thoughts, your feelings, very clear." And, with that, Tony took the stairs and exited the building.

THE END?

 **END NOTES: Does this need more? Or is this a good place to end it? What do you guys think? If it needs more, what does it need? I really kind of like this sort of 'jagged' ending.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 **AN: By an overwhelming margin, you guys wanted me to continue this. And for that I am grateful. I had wanted to have Gibbs and Abby, especially, do a little groveling. But, I was not sure if you readers would just consider it pathetic and not really something you would want to read. But, apparently, you would. I don't know when or who will grovel first. But, it will occur. Thanks to everyone for your continued reading, commenting, and supporting. And, thank you to my 'Guest' reader for seeing my error. I have corrected it. JL**

No one had realized or even considered that Tony could have consulted on the mission. The rules for undercover ops would really not be something that most agents should know by heart. By Tony knew all the rules and knew them well. He had been on so many undercover missions, he had them practically memorized. And this one about having minor children was huge. They had all sort of 'forgotten' about Tali in their condemnation of Tony.

There were hard questions Tony would have had to consider, had the team's beliefs been accurate. Who was Tony to drop Tali off with in France? Just name someone, anyone would or could take care of another person's child for an undetermined period of time. Who is willing to say, 'Yes, I will raise your child in the event you don't return"? And Gibbs and company had not even thought about how it might have been for Tony to leave Tali. They had not even considered how it could possibly feel to tell your child you love them and hug them for what might literally be the last time. These realizations gave them all pause and made them wish they had handled things much differently.

Gibbs cleared his throat, bringing them all back to the present and out of the stupor Tony's revelations had caused. He mumbled something about coffee and pressed the button for the elevator. Bishop, McGee and the newbie slowly headed back to their seats as the rest of the agents got settled back into their tasks. But, the room was still buzzing. This was made even more evident when moments after the scene Vance left a message, on McGee's phone, for Gibbs to see him immediately. Vance didn't get paid enough to deal with a full-on angry Gibbs, so a cellphone chat was out. The director knew Gibbs would go out for coffee. That would give the agent a little time to calm down first.

Gibbs showed up to Vance's office almost 15 minute later. Coffee in hand. He took the seat across from Vance's desk.

"Agent DiNozzo's back in…." Vance started.

"Why wasn't I told that Tony was asked to consult on our rescue?" Gibbs asked.

Leon looked a Gibbs for just a moment. He was trying to figure out what Gibbs really wanted to know. "Well, Agent Gibbs. It's not like I could get your input on the situation. I/We consulted Agent DiNozzo because…oh, you mean as opposed to calling him in as a part of the rescue mission. We could not do that, Gibbs. And, you know the reason. Tony s the sole caregiver for Tali. I cannot take a father away from his daughter, her only support, when there is even a chance, that that parent will not return home. And I'm not doing that to Tali. As Tony said, she's had enough drama in her young life."

"You talk to Tony…about Tali?" Gibbs asked, surprised and very curious.

'Wow, Agent Gibbs! I'm surprised you remember her name, but yeah." Leon replied.

"What does that mean?" Gibbs said, getting up from his chair.

"That means, Agent Gibbs, in the time you have been back from being rescued…you have only trashed Tony and dismissed Tali. You've never even mentioned her once."

Gibbs shook his head.

"Need I remind you of the cameras we have…throughout the building. They have audio." The director stated.

"He never called. He could have called." Gibbs offered.

"Tony said he didn't know you were back until 9 days later. Around that time both he and Tali had the flu. And, to honor Tali's Jewish heritage, they were involved in certain practices of the Jewish faith that do not lend themselves to using cellphones." Vance explained. "He didn't deserve what you threw at him."

Gibbs signed and nodded.

"And, he was right about that second B." Leon said as Gibbs left his office.

SIX WEEKS LATER:

Tony heard a knock on his door. The junior agents visited him often with questions so he told the person to come in, suspecting it was a student. But, that was not the case.

Tony stood. "What do you want?"

Gibbs was not used to being challenged, and he was usually the one with the attitude. But, he knew if he pushed, back he would not get nowhere. The Team Lead swallowed, hard, before he spoke.

"It would…appear that I have a lot to apologize for, Tony. I…."

"Yes, a hell of a lot." Tony answered. "And, you've lost the privilege of calling me Tony."

Gibbs nodded before proceeding. "I didn't know you had been consulted. I didn't know you had the flu. I didn't…."

"You didn't know a lot of things." Tony replied. "You didn't want to know anything. You didn't try to find out anything. And,you based what you did know on things told to you by people who had no clue what the hell they were talking about." He paused, fuming. "Do I have it…about right?"

Gibbs started to speak. But Tony continued.

"And you allowed your people to spread rumor and downright lies about me? You allowed my reputation to be tarnished? And you allowed the new agent to be filled with such hate and misinformation about me, that he verbally attacks me when we first meet? And, you back him up?" Tony was clinching his fists now, wanting to punch something. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Gibbs started to open his mouth again.

"You know what. I don't care! You and McGee have turned most everybody against me. I don't care what you have to say. Nothing is going to make things right. I will never trust you again. My child will have NOTHING to do with you!" Tony paused again. "I have explained to Tali that she has no Grandpa Gibbs or Uncle Tim or Aunt Ellie. You can spread the word to Ducky and Abby, too. My child will not associate with people who can't stand to be around me."

Gibbs was shocked. "That's not fair. Tali belonged to Ziva, too."

"Yes, she did, she does." Tony stated. "But, Ziva is not here. I am Tali's parent, her ONLY parent. And I will be the one making the decisions for her."

"She deserves a family." Gibbs pleaded. "Ziva would want her to…."

"Really? You're gonna…." Tony couldn't believe her ears. "You're gonna actually try that shit? You have a hell of a nerve saying anything to me about Ziva after the way you treated Tali!"

Gibbs was clueless.

"It broke Tali's heart for me to have to tell her that she would not be getting her American family. And, I had told her all about you and how you would be her Grandpa. For months, I had been telling her about you, all of you. I explained our FORMER relationships to her. I explained to her about how we considered ourselves to be one big family. But, now that is no longer the case." Tony glared at Gibbs. "And do you know what that sweet, precious, little girl thought? She actually thought that this horrific…mess was, somehow, her fault. She actually asked me if she was the reason everybody was mad at me." Tony replayed the scene in his mind, and it brought tears to his eyes. "How do you think Ziva would have felt about that, Agent Gibbs?"

Gibbs started to speak.

"Just get out. Get the Hell out!" Tony said in an even and as level a voice as he could muster.

Gibbs hesitated.

Tony growled. "Don't think, for a minute, I won't remove you! GO!"

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Tony was at his wit's end. He needed to set her straight. Right now.

"You're wrong!" Tony said as he walked into the lab.

Abby had her music off. She was talking, gesturing, to one of the new recent hires. A woman that Tony actually had in his classes. He recognized her immediately. He also heard his name being tossed around, and on not such good terms.

"You're wrong, Abby!" Tony repeated.

Abby shook her head. "Gibbs is never wrong. He would never do something like that." She huffed. "And this was a private conversation."

It was Tony's turn. "He was wrong. And he did do it. And you were talking loud enough for everyone on this hall to hear you!"

Abby huffed back. "You're lying!"

"Look it up for yourself, Abby. It's in the handbook. You wouldn't know about that particular rule. You're not an agent. But, Gibbs did, Abby. He knew. And yet he allowed everyone to continue to blame and ridicule me when he got back. He could have stopped it. He could have…."

Abby backed away from him. She was not going to believe her silver-haired fox would do such a thing.

Tony sighed. "The Field Agent Undercover Operations and Instructions Manuel. It's page 39, paragraph 4, line 6." He paused. "Read it…don't read it. I don't care!" He suddenly felt defeated. He was tired of fighting people who were of little importance to him and Tali.

Tony turned to the young agent. "I'm sorry you have to hear this, Probationary Agent Collins. While it is better to air things out with people face to face rather than continuing to talk about them behind their backs. You should not have had to witness that scene. And for that, I am sorry. Because, when those things do not happen, you end up in embarrassing and completely avoidable situations, such as the one we are in now."

Tony waited for the agent to leave. Collins was in shock, feeling like she was caught in the middle. What Tony told her had helped and she nodded at Tony and headed out of the lab.

Tony waited before he spoke again. "Ms. Scuito!" He said to get her attention. Don't you EVER talk about me to another agent like that! How dare you?" He used his height and proximity to let her know he meant business.

Abby backed away. She could see and feel his anger.

"I am her instructor. How much confidence and trust is she going to have in me now? That pack of lies you just told her? I need her to trust me, for me to be able to do my job. And, if you've ruined that trust, I'll…." Tony was too angry to even finish his sentence. He turned to leave the lab.

"Like Gibbs and Tim trusted you." Abby mumbled.

Tony was back again in a flash. "I never let Gibbs or McGee down out in the field! Not when and where it counted, Ms. Scuito. And, I dare you…I DARE you or them to come up with a time that that happened! Because they won't be able to, it didn't happen. I did my job as an agent here. And I did it well." Tony paused. "They had agents. Plenty of them, all the alphabet was there, Abby. I'm a dad now. I can't go around the world chasing bad guys anymore. You seem to have forgotten that. So, I…."

"Tali!"

"Yes Abby, my daughter, Tali." Tony replied.

Abby face softened as she thought of Ziva's little girl. "Aunt Abby."

"Nope."

Abby glared at him.

"Tali no longer has an Aunt Abby…"

"Tony!" Abby pleaded.

"Or a Grandpa Gibb, or an Uncle Tim or Aunt Ellie." Tony stated. "I had to explain to her that she no longer had the American family that I had been telling her about since we left The States."

"But…Tony….?"

"I had to tell her, her American family no longer exists."

"Why?" Abby whined. "Ziva would have wanted…."

"It didn't work for Gibbs. It's not going to work for you!" Tony said, shaking his head. "Ziva would NOT have liked the way you've treated Tali."

"What?" Abby was confused.

"You never took Tali into consideration ONCE while you were belittling and berating me! Where was Tali going to be while I was on this rescue mission?"

Tony watched her expression change. "Where was she going to stay? Because under normal circumstances, it probably would have been Gibbs." He paused. "But, of course, Gibbs was not an option! Was he? Where else? Who has the experience to take care of a toddler, possibly long term?"

Abby didn't speak.

"Nobody coming to mind, huh?" Tony asked. "Yeah, me either. But, you expected me to leave my traumatized little girl. For what? She gets to lose both parents before her 5th birthday? How DO you think Ziva would have felt about that?"

Abby started to speak.

Tony shook his head. "We're done here!" He started to walk away and then turned back. "And the next time I hear you're bad mouthing me to one of my students, you won't get a warning!"

THE END

End Notes: I don't think I've ever left a story with this type of ending before. But, I just wanted you all to know how very, very pissed off Tony was.


End file.
